Chapter 17 — Bringing Children to Find a Husband

At half past eleven, I boarded a civilian vehicle as arranged by the police. The car did not go straight to the warehouse, but stopped at the nearby intersection. Everything that happens next will be handled by them. I sat in the car, looking at the abandoned factory in Nam City, my palms wet with sweat. At exactly twelve o'clock, a man entered the warehouse. Not long after, there was a second person. A few minutes later, Chiang Minh Loi also appeared again. My chest heaved a beat. He is not being asked for debt. It's about coming to negotiate terms. The recording in the warehouse was transmitted directly to the police device. A man swore: "If your wife doesn't deliver the things here, we'll all die." Tuong Minh Loi's voice was hoarse. "I've been pushed to the edge by her." "Don't touch the children." "I'll go beg her." The other person sneered. "What's the use of begging?" "Once a woman is cruel, she's harder to deal with than anyone else." "Either tell her to sign a waiver." "Or make her shut her mouth." Hearing the last four words, I felt chills run down my spine. The next second, the police burst in. In the warehouse, there was the sound of tables and chairs collapsing and the sound of men cursing. About ten minutes later, all three people were escorted out. Tuong Minh Loi saw me sitting in the car on the side of the road and was stunned. His eyes turned from surprise to shame, then to pleading. I pushed the car door open and got out. He was pressed tightly against the police car, his voice trembling without a sound. "Xuan Hoa, I really don't intend to harm you and the children." I looked at him. "But you stood there." "Hearing what they said would make me shut up." "You didn't call the police from the beginning." His lips were white, unable to utter a word. Police opened the bag seized at the scene. Inside there was cash, several photocopies of accounting books, and a recording pen. On a piece of paper in there, write down the home address, school, work and school times for me and my two children. I looked at that piece of paper, my fingertips were cold. At this moment, the police officer in charge of the search pulled out a bag of documents from the corner of the warehouse. An appointment sheet for a DNA examination fell out. The person who made the appointment was Phung Le Na. In the child's name section, it's not the other boy. It was Tuong Minh Loi. 17I stared at that appointment paper and didn't say a word for a long time. Chiang Minh Loi also saw the name on it. His face turned from gray to pale. "What is this thing?" No one answered him. The police spread out each sheet of paper in the file bag. In addition to the appointment letter, there are also several copies of old photos. In the photo, young Ma Thuy Anh is standing next to a man, holding a baby still in diapers. The year and month are clearly written on the back of the photo. That year, Chiang Minh Loi had just been born. And the man standing next to Ma Thuy Anh is not the old man of the Tuong family. It's Phung Duc Hai - the middle-aged man who brought the loan note to threaten me at the tea shop. It's just that the person in the photo is much younger, but his facial features have not changed. Tuong Minh Loi seemed to have been slapped by someone and raised his head to look at that man. "Phung Duc Hai, what is this photo?" Phung Duc Hai was pressed next to the police car, the corner of his mouth twitched. "I don't know." "Phung Le Na put it in, it has nothing to do with me." The police coldly asked him: "Just now in the warehouse, you didn't say that." Phung Duc Hai immediately shut his mouth. I suddenly understood. In Phung Le Na's hands, she not only held documents from Chiang Minh Loi's commission. She still holds the old debt that Ma Thuy Anh is most afraid of being overturned. Therefore, when Ma Thuy Anh was at the school gate, Tieu Chu was not like the Tuong and Phung families.

Only then did Le Na dare to follow. She doesn't just want to win the position. She wants to hold everyone in the Chiang family in the palm of her hand. Chiang Minh Loi glared at the appointment paper. On it was written *Family relationship assessment.* One of the people being assessed, Chiang Minh Loi. The remaining column reads Phung Duc Hai. The person who made the appointment, Phung Le Na. The appointment date is two days later. Tuong Minh Loi's lips trembled. "Why does she want to do the appraisal for you and me?" Phung Duc Hai turned away, not daring to look at him. This reaction was more of an eyesore than any explanation. Tuong Minh Loi suddenly struggled a step, almost rushing forward. The police immediately held him down. "Be obedient." Tuong Minh Loi shouted with bloodshot eyes: "Tell me!" "What is your relationship with my mother?" Phung Duc Hai was startled by screaming, turned and bit back. "What are you asking me for?" "Go ask his mother." This sentence was like a barrel of gasoline, thrown straight at Tuong Minh Loi. His whole body was stiff, his eyes were terrifyingly empty. I stood next to him, feeling no joy in my heart. There is just an unspeakable ridiculousness. Ma Thuy Anh always mentioned the Tuong family name, using it to oppress me and my children for many years. But what she herself is preserving may have been distorted from the very beginning.